Celebrating 20 years of Responsible Care

HE greatest benefit of being a member of CAIA is having the opportunity to be part of the Responsible Care initiative, according to Elsie Phillips, Corporate SHE: Head of Product Stewardship at Sasol Chemical Industries.

She says CAIA supports Sasol in articulating the company’s views on matters affecting the chemical industry but also portrays the positive image of the chemical industry being a solution provider to all stakeholders affected by its activities and products.

Carsten Larsen, managing director: Dow Southern Africa says CAIA has been a good platform for gaining access to peers, exploring partnerships, collaborating with other chemical companies, and gaining opportunities for dialogue and exchange about challenges that are common to all in the industry.

“The association is a great advocacy platform to achieve change and foster best practices in the chemical industry. It has the resources, the contacts, the ability and the breadth to organise members on key issues. When we have a key issue, CAIA is one of the first places we look to for advice,” says Larsen.

Des Gordon, group executive at EnviroServ says CAIA has produced sets of industry standards that reflect global best practice and which incorporates the requirements of various International Organization for Standardization (ISO) management standards to which EnviroServ subscribes.

“EnviroServ has adopted these standards and ensures that they are added to our current safety, health, environment and quality integrated management system (SHEQ IMS) programme.

“CAIA is a well-respected organisation, which through its stature and leverage is able to engage constructively with government and influence policy and legislation,” says Gordon.

Dean Mulqueeny, CEO at ChlorAlkali Holdings agrees that membership of CAIA offers great benefits to companies in the chemical and allied industries of which the Responsible Care initiative is the greatest benefit.

“We benefit from CAIA’s Responsible Care initiative in two ways.

“Firstly, the audit process relating to the degree of compliance to the Responsible Care standards has given us a perspective of where we stand as a responsible chemical manufacture against a set of measureable criteria.

“This has enabled us to focus efforts in specific areas not covered in our other ISO listings and achieve significant improvement in these areas.

“Secondly, environmental impact

Tassessment (EIA) assistance by CAIA is extremely valuable. For example, when there were problems at the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) (our application was not being driven due to personnel issues at GDARD – with no progress for months) CAIA assisted in tracking and tracing – even contacting the minister to assist,” says Mulqueeny.

Larsen says Dow has benefitted by implementing Responsible Care principles, because the company has earned awards and industry recognition for being a leader in protecting human health, the environment, and working with others to establish standards and improve industry performance.

“These principles have been critical in helping us to achieve a mindset change among our employees and customers, and for integrating sustainability as a core driver in everything that we do and wherever we operate.

“Ethics, safety, sustainability and accountability – all key tenets of the Responsible Care initiative –underpin Dow’s business strategy and are core to our operations. Integrating sustainability into our business has helped us to grow the top line and the bottom line,” says Larsen.

Phillips says the benefits for Sasol of being a Responsible Care signatory are twofold.

“Firstly, in it being a voluntary initiative that provides the framework against which safety, health and environmental performance including sustainability can be measured and stakeholders can trust the company to be responsible in its actions.

“Furthermore, it gives Sasol a competitive advantage in the fact that other companies and organisations are prepared to work with us wherever we operate and market our products,” says Phillips.

Responsible care aligns and assists Impala Platinum Refineries to improve performance in terms of SHE management and ISO compliance, according to Carina Burger.

“It is also easier to use suppliers and especially transporters that are Responsible Care signatories because we have the peace of mind that the service provider works according to a high standard and that serious negligence or non-compliance will not be found at those service providers,” says Burger.

Gordon contends that Responsible Care promotes continuous improvement in performance requiring that members regularly report on their performance.

“Sound management practices the management practice standards (MPS).

“There have been open communication channels between EnviroServ Waste Management and CAIA if we have required advice or clarity on any issues in the MPS.

“Through their workshops CAIA helps to keep the industry updated with changes and challenges in legislations and codes of practice,” says Gordon.

Larsen says Responsible Care has supported Dow’s drive to enhance its safety, health and environmental performance, sustainable development, and management of chemicals.

“Through Responsible Care principles we set even higher standards for the management of our chemicals and our technology.

“We have adopted aggressive sustainability goals. We operate a ‘safety first’ mindset at Dow, and our ‘Drive to Zero’ global safety goals will always come first. We continuously strive to achieve the vision of zero accidents, zero injuries and zero harm to the environment.

“Responsible Care principles have helped us to drive home this message to every Dow employee wherever they may be in the world,” explains Larsen.

He says consumers are demanding sustainable products and services. Those companies that bring such products to the market are going to be around for the next 100 years.

“Dow has been around for 117 years and Responsible Care will help us to continue this longevity. To us, sustainability means business and competitive advantage. Sustainability and business should be inseparable, and that’s how things are at Dow.

Larsens says Responsible Care supports Dow’s improved reporting and risk management.

“As a committed participant and advocate of Responsible Care, we are resolute about identifying, reducing and managing process safety risks in the workplace.

“We have committed ourselves to publicly reporting our global health, safety and environmental performance.”

Mulqueeny agrees: “Integrating the demand of the responsible care programme into Chlor-Alkali Holdings’ core management systems, policies and operating procedures, as well as business goals has improved our integrated reporting and sustainability compliance practices as well as the company’s risk management”.

“Identifying risks pertaining to the business have become an integral part of risk management and mitigation,” explains Mulqueeny.

According to Phillips, while the demands of Responsible Care and sustainability are increasing regarding compliance and remain a challenge, Sasol has implemented mechanisms to address this as far as possible.

Gordon confirms Phillips’s assessment. He says EnviroServ Waste Management has implemented measures to ensure that it remains abreast of the ever-changing requirements of sustainability management and changes and enhancements in the SHEQ management system if these requirements are pertinent to the company’s business.

He also agrees that Responsible Care supports companies’ improved reporting and risk management: “We submit annual quantitative indicators of performance to CAIA”.

“These are part and parcel of our reporting initiatives,” says Gordon.

With a successful 20-year Responsible Care track record, Gordon forecasts that CAIA will continue improving and developing the initiative for the benefit of all stakeholders.

“CAIA is an innovative organisation with good management systems and practices. We see CAIA remaining abreast of international trends and ensuring that these are made applicable to the South African context and enhancing the MPS over time.

“The expansion of the Responsible Care initiative into the rest of Africa by CAIA is also a positive step for cross border goods conveyors and multinationals to facilitate the transfer of best practice to our neighboring countries,” says Gordon.

Mulqueeny predicts an ever-increasing interaction with government for CAIA to represent the industry and lobby relating to new legislation that places a huge financial burden on the industry.

Phillips says pressures from society for safer chemicals and sustainable production are increasing and the Responsible Care initiative, under the stewardship of CAIA, will have to develop in such a way that it can address the challenges faced by the chemical industry.

“Responsible Care will continue to underpin breakthrough collaborations that advance sustainable development and promote the growth of the chemical industry,” says Larsen.

“The principles of Responsible Care are important for sustainability and future growth. As a company if you want to be around for a long time, you need to be committed to the principles of Responsible Care – if you are not committed, you are not going to be around for very long. It’s as simple as that,” adds Larsen.